A number of unforeseen developments — including some tweaks and modifications to the Rhino Stock Report website — have kept any new investment alerts from hitting your inbox for a while now. So let’s hit the ground running this month with a look at what the market’s up to and a handful of watchlist stocks that are worth watching right now.

First, a look at the broad market…

The big news on Friday was the SEC’s decision to initiate fraud proceedings against Goldman Sachs, arguably the most well connected firm on  Wall Street. While Goldman had been posturing for a more publicly favorable position in the past few weeks (after taking flak for overpaying employees and profiting from the mortgage meltdown), the SEC’s suit alleges that the firm knowingly packaged shaky mortgages and sold them off to clients who trusted the firm’s triple-A rating.

Or, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jay Bookman so eloquently put it:

Described another way, [Goldman's institutional clients] handpicked sick, diseased pigs to be made into sausage, then bet millions that the resulting sausage would make people sick. Goldman, for its part, made the poisoned sausage (and got paid), sold that sausage to its own unwitting customers (and got paid again), and. like [those big clients], bet millions that those customers would get sick (and got paid yet again).

That downward market pressure provided investors with the worst single-day loss in stocks since February… but Friday’s slide was still tame compared to the rally we’ve been enjoying in 2010. With earnings season upon us once again, company fundamentals and economic data are going to drive the market, and we’ll be stuck along for the ride for better or worse.

That’s why it’s so significant to stick with companies that are fundamentally sound in this market environment. After all, we can’t count on a rally scenario forever…

Watch This Watchlist

In the last few months, we’ve seen our Rhino Stock plays perform exceedingly well — the majority of our open positions are up double-digits. Now, it’s time to take a look at our next profitable play. These five stocks present a strong mix of growth and value right now, but we’ll likely wait until later-on in April to pull the trigger on an actual trade — earnings season and Goldman fallout add too much unnecessary risk for right now.

1. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)
Applied Materials provides nanomanufacturing products for the semiconductor industry. With chipmakers still reeling from the economic slowdown, this stock is still trading at a discount to what I believe to be a reasonable valuation. Coupled with some of the groundbreaking microchip technology this company is developing, it could make a welcome addition to the Rhino Stock portfolio this month.

2. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)
While Abbott Labs has made a name for itself in the pharmaceutical and diagnostic products market, I think that this company’s consumer nutrition line is even more compelling. With high-margin niche brands like EAS Myoplex, this stock should continue to see segment growth as Americans focus more on fitness.

3. Cemex SAB de CV (NYSE:CX)
Don’t underestimate the growth potential of Mexican concrete maker Cemex — as one of the largest building materials makers in the world, this company stands to reap the benefits of astounding growth in the emerging market.

4. iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT)
I’ve been a fan of iRobot for a while now. While the company’s Roomba product line made the stock a household name, it the burgeoning defense contracting business that has my interest for 2010. Still, this small-cap could be too prone to market whipshaws for our purposes.

5. Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)
This payroll service provider has managed to carve out a profitable niche for itself — one with high exit costs for customers. As Paychex expands its portfolio of services, it should see sizable revenue increases with minimal marketing costs.

With the earnings creep sneaking up on us, I’d like to make a move on one of these positions here in April. The technical outlook for stocks coming into next week will likely dictate just how soon we pull the trigger. Keep an eye on your inbox on Friday for next week’s Market Recap.

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